Our electronic devices today store an awful lot of personal information. We use the devices to read and send e-mails, check bank balances, and even pay our bills over the internet. We want to be assured that if our devices are stolen. our personal information stored inside them will remain safe from the thief who physically possesses the device.
To deal with this problem. Apple has come out with a new iPhone that uses biometric( 生物识别的 )information to lock itself up. The phone has a fingerprint scanner that will lock or unlock the phone. Your fingerprint becomes the key, and this makes it nearly impossible for others to use your phone without your immediate permission- or does it?
At first look, one would think that this type of security would be welcome in the high-tech community where privacy is valued. Instead, some people are even more worried about their privacy. According to revealed documents, the US National Security Agency is able to slip into smartphones, while the agency can also legally force companies to turn over customers' personal information. If this is true, the fingerprint scanner on your smartphone might become a tool for the authorities to collect your fingerprint data.
Another problem with using biometrics to secure devices is that people don't know how secure the systems actually are. Germany's Chaos Computer Club claimed to have slipped into a biometrically secured iPhone within days of the device's release to the public. If this is the case, people who are using this type of security are much more vulnerable than they are led to believe. Although most security systems are hacked by someone eventually, the speed at which biometric security was hacked was very upset to some.
Regardless of how a device is secured, the debate is still attributes to the trade-off between privacy and security. Governments sometimes need to look at large amounts of information in order to defeat terrorist secret plans, and necessarily, some of the data come from you and me. When we use iPhones and other devices, we lose the ability to safeguard information that we would rather keep private, and we are forced to put trust in others.
It will always be difficult to strike a balance between privacy and security with growing changing technology. Nevertheless, one thing is crystal clear: we all have to sacrifice some of our privacy in order to have security for the public.
1 ． Why do people want to be assured that their electronic devices won’t be stolen?
A ． Because people depend too much on it .
B ． Because electronic devices are necessary in the workplace .
C ． Because electronic devices are getting more and more expensive.
D ． Because there is too much personal information in their electronic devices.
2 ． The example of the US National Security Agency aims to tell us _____
A ． The biometric devices are fully safe.
B ． Companies keep users’ personal information safe.
C ． The biometric devices will be the popular way to ensure our privacy.
D ． The authorities may drive companies to turn in users’ fingerprint data.
3 ． The underline word in Paragraph 4 means_____
A ． stable. B ． insecure. C ． reliable. D ． difficult.
4 ． From the last paragraph we can learn that____
A ． the government will eventually know everything about us.
B ． It is impossible to know who can be trusted in this technological world.
C ． It is necessary to give up a certain amount of privacy for the sake of security.
D ． Very few people are willing to use fingerprint security on their new phones.
1 ． D
2 ． A
3 ． B
4 ． C
【分析】
这是一篇说明文，介绍了苹果公司研制出的用生物信息识别锁，从而保护人的隐私，以及由此引发的关于隐私保护的讨论。
1 ．细节理解题。根据文中第一段最后一句 “We want to be assured that if our devices are stolen. our personal information stored inside them will remain safe from the thief who physically possesses the device.” （我们希望得到保证，如果我们的设备被盗，我们存储在其中的个人信息将不会被窃贼窃取）可知，人们想要确保他们的电子设备不会被偷，因为他们的电子设备里有太多的个人信息。故选 D 项。
2 ．推理判断题。根据文中第三段 “According to revealed documents, the US National Security Agency is able to slip into smartphones, while the agency can also legally force companies to turn over customers' personal information. If this is true, the fingerprint scanner on your smartphone might become a tool for the authorities to collect your fingerprint data” （ 根据披露的文件，美国国家安全局可以潜入智能手机，同时该机构也可以合法地强制企业交出客户的个人信息。如果这是真的，你智能手机上的指纹扫描仪可能会成为当局收集你指纹数据的工具）可知，美国国家安全局的例子旨在告诉我们生物识别设备是完全安全的。故选 A 项。
3 ．词句猜测题。根据第四段中 “Germany's Chaos Computer Club claimed to have slipped into a biometrically secured iPhone within days of the device's release to the public.” （德国 Chaos 电脑俱乐部声称，在 iPhone 向公众发布后的几天内，他们潜入了装有生物识别安全装置的 iPhone ）可知，使用这种类型安全系统的人比他们认为的更容易受到攻击。所以可知，这种安全系统比人们想象的更不安全。由此可知画线词词义为 “ 不安全的 ” ，故选 B 项。
4 ．推理判断题。根据文中最后一段 “It will always be difficult to strike a balance between privacy and security with growing changing technology. Nevertheless, one thing is crystal clear: we all have to sacrifice some of our privacy in order to have security for the public.” （随着技术的不断发展，在隐私和安全之间取得平衡总是很困难的。然而，有一件事是非常清楚的：我们都必须牺牲一些隐私，以确保公众的安全。）可知，为了安全起见，我们有必要放弃一定的隐私。故选 C 项。
